Hi from Austrailia!!
I know its been a while since Ilast wrote a blog but since in oz we are hre to work at the moment I thought id just ad photos every so often, and do a blog every month or so.
So thinking back!!! We arrived in Sydney after Fiji with not a clue in the world as to what we wer going to do, the original plan was to travel up the coast and then gett to Cairns to work then fly off to aisa in september!
No longer the case!!
When we got to sydney we felt really lost, confused and cold!! so we went to go speak to a guy at the travel desk in the hostel and he sorted us out!! We decidedbecause it was so freaking cold (as its middle of winter) and it woud be up the coast to unil we hit cairns, to do it the other way around. So we booked a direct flight up to Cairns, and would work first in the sunshine, and then travel down the coast when it starts to warm up again!
Decision made!!
So we spent about a week in Sydney getting our bearings....stayed in a hosttel for abit, then went and stayed wth Sians friend Leanne in a gorgeous apartment!! We both got asutrailian mobiles...wore propperclothes. Was like getting back to nornal life in England really. We met up with Eddi from Fiji one night and went out with him and his friends, and met Andy and Jonny fro bolivia, new zealand abd fiji too one day whidh was nice to see some familiar faces!!
A friend from home gave me the number of a girl she met whilst she was in Cairns so I called her to see if she could give us a heads up on where to live and jobs and stuff....and she sorted us out with a flat with her there and then! flat sorted, amazing!! so we went out to dinner to celebrate, and the next day hopped on a plane to Cairns!!!
Hello Cairns!! Our new flatnates Jo and Liam came and picked us up from the airport whicch was really nice of them....because Liam has a car. They both sseemed ovey, drove us back to the flat, ploned our stuff down and then took us for a drivibg tour of Cairns, and mcdonalds drive thru! Its a small town, but we got a nice feel for it! we came back and met the other 3 flat mates, Joe, Lee and Ben! All lovely, flats amazing, ad we both could not WAIT to unpack our backpacks in the morniing!!! soooo exciting!!! So as it was late we went to bed, and got a fresh start in the morning.
So this is where it all began, we unpacked - and went to go meet Brittany and Liz from Fiji who were here for a week!!! yyayyyyyyy! We gave ourself a day off before job hunting with the girls, had a lovely lunch, sunbathed at the lagoon, they came back to ours, we cooked fahitas and went out!! Was sooooo nice to see them and we had an awwesome day!!!! the next day the job hunt was on, we opened ozzy bank accounts, wrote cv's, handed them into evry bar, booked a rsa (something you need to work i a bar out here, its a stupid test!!), and genreally got our bearings. Bth of us went to a recruitment night type tyhing at sa bar called Rhino, we were interveiwed together and both given promo work instantly that night so we did the door which was fun!! They then gave us boh bar trials, and we got it! yay jobs! But then the next day I gott a call from Gilligans asking me to do a Trial too - and I REALLY wanted to work there!! So I had a big dilema cos i was supposedf to be working n the bar at Rhino that night where I had a joob secured...but I wanted Gilligans so badly!!! ahhhhhhhh, so after much worry and debate i called in sick to Rhino, and did my trial at Gilligans, and go the job!! yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! so it all worked out, and working life wen from there!!
My first week was pretty manic, as 4000 us sailors had docked so it literally was the most mentsl busy crazy week cairns had seen in months!! But I coped, and maade a nice wodge of tips from all the americans!!!! Im taking about 50 quid a day!! Was amazig! Spent my dsays chillng out with Brittany and Liz by the lagoon, then worked every night, and any nnight i had off I would beout partying with them until they had to leave!! Liz went first, and me brit, ashley and his mate took them to the airport in hsi car, droppd her off - and on the way back the car broke down!!! we were in the middle of nowhere, was so funny!!! Had to walk miles to get petrol, abd obviously find a mcdonalds. then we hitched back to the car!! So funny. A few days later it was time for brit to leave.. was horrible saying bye again....alot of tears, not nice!! but bless them both because they wer goign home forgood they donated loads of there cclothes and stuff to us!!! Brit said she is coming to london next summer so very excited for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So then the weeks have just sort of flown by, with sunbathin in the day time, shopping, lazing by the pool, then either worrkign iin the evenings or going out. We both have made lots of good firends here in the apartment and teh rest of our blocl, from work - and a big bunch of guys from another hostel who ar also workers ghere. Its been so fun, I am absoltuly lovinng it. Lots of pool parties...bbq's and what not itss been amazing!! And I have actually been making really good money and saving!!
So fot ages Sian and I had been looking froward to andy and Jonny getting here, and they arrived on the 5th of Augsut a 6am at ior huse! I was beat, as the day before Matt Daryl and me had been out drinking doing a Bar crawl for 'Mayondi Monday' we called it from 11am to 3am!!over 12 hours drinking, i was still drunk when theygot here!!! But anyway - so was lovely to see them, i had to work that night but the next night we arranged for a massive night out...

...which I think I can safetly say turned out to be (without trying to sound to dramatic) the most disasterous night of my life!!

We all bought 2 passion pops each (should have known that after the first shop didnt have any, and the second not having any pink oens and me kicking up a fuss about wanting pink not purple and finally finding some boxes in the door to tear open just so we could get pink ones that it was a sign to just not buy them!!!). So anyway - bought them, went to meet the boys at Gilligans for pre drinking. We had been on the balcony for abut 2 minutes, introduced myself to everyone and said hi to the boys - and then went to open my bottle. The next thing I knew i was like lee whydid you smack me round the head!! then i found iout that the cork exploded directly in my eye....thought I was ok,then realised i clearly wasnt. Told Sian I had to leave, paced around for abit before she got tme to sit down. She had a look and just said, dont look in the mirror -and we're going to hospital. We went downstrairs, got some ice from work and we then walked to the medical centre. I saw somebody right away and then they sent me to hospital where I saw an eye doctor.

That night I had totally lost my sight, apparenly my whole eye was a sheet of blood - i didnt want to look so ive no idea what it looked like.. i was told a bunch of scary stuff, and that i may have a detached retina which woudl basically mean id lost my sight. The doctor took an ultasound, but could really see much as my whole eye was just a pool of bloody and he couldnt see the back. He put me on bed rest for 5 days and told me to come back tomorrow. The next day I went back in, could see a little bit, but nothing very good. Did more eye tests, another ultrasound = and was told I hadnt detached my retina but was at high risk now, and i had had a massive trauma to my eye and was lucky I hadnt instantly lost my sight. Over the next few days i was in abd out of hospital everyday being told differenr things, that i had a catorax, bruised my retina extremelt badly, torn my pupil, torn my iris, broken my lens....etc..etc...and afte rmy 5 days bed rest were up - he put me straight back on another 5. Then i started seeing a speciliast - who told me I dont hacve A Catorax yet, but may well get one in the next few days weeks months or years - but it wouldnt be a simple operation as my lens has retracted into my eye so it would just fall out if they did the normal proeedure. I was also told I am likely to get glucomber, and I am at risk of a detatched retina. Lots of nice things.....

Needless to say its been a pretty nightmare 12 day bed rest - not with just being able to not see, but with having to stay in bed when everyone else around me can go to work, and go out partying...its horrible!!! But everybody has been so surportive and helpful, especially Sian coming to all my appointments with me, and with my family ringing me all the time, and Liam giving me his room every friday night so I can watch so yiu think you can dance on his tv whilst still lying down - so heres a massive thankyou to everyone. Its been so so so tough, and not a great thing to happen at the best of times....but its even harder being so far away from home.

So its day 12 today, I have another doctors appointment with the specialist tomorrow where I should find out exactly whats going on. All the visable blood has cleared from my eye now, so he should be able to look arond a bit better. I am praying that I hear good news...because im not sure how much more bed rest I can do. As it is - our good freinds from here are out tonight for there last night and I wont even get to say goodbye to them cos of my stupid eye!!! So I have to say this is the biggest low point yet...but fingers crossed I get good news tomorrow - and that I maybe dont need an opertation, and all I need is glasses or something!!! Wish me luck, and hopefully tomorrow I will be showering this blog with good news!

Thankyou to everyone again for being so surportive with all the millions of overseas calls Ive had, and the amount of chocolate donuts and doritos im getting brought as presetns by people here!

bye for now.

xxx